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These days, women continue to contemplate on whether they should opt for the breast augmentation surgery (even girls as young as 18 years old) or not. This is something that leaves them with questions about how future motherhood may affect their breast. On average, a breast augmentation patient is about 34 years of age and at least has one child.
According to 2015 reports by the American Society of plastic surgeons (ASPS), about 32% of patients who seek were under the age of years. Most of these younger women are happy about their post-augmentation lives, until a top question pops up, “I am pregnant! Will this have any effect on my breast implants?
During Pregnancy, Breasts Change
During pregnancy, the good is that breast implants do not change. Surgeons at Crispin Plastic Surgery in Atlanta often favor a partial or complete under the breast muscle placement of implants, which would work well to help support your breasts through the lifetime of the implants. This also helps to add a barrier between your changing breasts and implants. Over the course of your pregnancy, the changes your breasts make are to your skin and breast tissue, not the breast implants.
Through several points during the pregnancy, hormones could surge through and later when you move on to the phase of breastfeeding. The surge of hormones may cause a variety of changes to your breasts, but could also be an indicator of how your breasts should recover. All women are different, with different body types, so the changes you experience may be different from your best friend.
During pregnancy, here is a partial list of exactly what you should expect during pregnancy.
- Breast increasing in size and swelling
- Tenderness in the breast and changes in sensation
- Changes in the nipple (including changes in size, sensitivity, and prominence)
- Veins become more visible
Post Pregnancy Breast Changes
Many changes that take place during breastfeeding for new mothers who opt for implants and as you read on below, you will find more information about your implants during the lactation phase. After you go under the knife for your breast augmentation surgery, you could expect your breasts to experience changes in the whole process. Most women as a standard question, “Will the shape of my breasts revert back to normal?” On the downside, no set answer is available for this question. If you just had your first child right before your augmentation surgery, you could use the previous pregnancy as a guide to how your breasts would react after additional pregnancies. On the other hand, for women who did not have a previous pregnancy, the only answer is to consult other women around them, their sisters, and mothers. When you consult your surgeon, you could also ask them for some before and after breast augmentation photos to get an idea of what you should expect.
As we age, the elastin and collagen in our breasts reduce, so younger women who tend to have fewer changes see a closer return to their pre-pregnancy breasts. However, any woman could experience some permanent changes in their breast, such as looser skin, reduced breast tissue or an increase in the appearance of sag.
Another common question is, “how long should it take for my breasts to return back to normal?” Yet again, this is something that depends on individual women. For women who make the choice on not to breastfeed, it could last about three months before hormones return to normal postpartum. Women who choose to breastfeed, it could take longer than three months for the hormones to return back to normal. Whether you stop breastfeeding completely, you could still have some milk expression for a while. This is something normal, but if you opt to explore a secondary surgery, you may need to ensure that the production of regular milk stops in order to prevent infections post surgery and an increased risk of problems like capsular contracture.
Breasts Post Pregnancy and How to Deal with Dissatisfaction
What truly happens when you are no longer happy with the appearance of your breasts following the birth of your baby or the nursing phase? The answer here is most probably to seek a breast lift, an exchange of implants for size, or a combination of the two. For stretch marks, there are several non-surgical treatments available and you can always discuss these with a board certified surgeon. This should also help you to decide on a suitable plan for your post-pregnancy breasts.
Rest assured that breast implants actually do not have a negative effect on pregnancy and nursing. The ability of your breasts to produce milk strictly depends on the type of incisions your surgeon chooses to make. Make sure you discuss all your options and go under the knife only when you are okay with the information you have on hand.
